Me.

WindySydney began as an online journal detailing my exit from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Since leaving the Mormon Church, I have come to the conclusion that religion does more harm than good. I have also become an atheist, looking for logic and reason instead of accepting things on faith.

I also blog about things going on in my life. I am learning photography, I have a severe addiction to diet coke, I am a proud vegetarian, and I have two of the cutest cats in the world. Life is officially an adventure without the magical fairy-tale ending. I plan on enjoying it.

Good Monday everyone, I decided to share some things I found on "The Skeptics Annotated Book of Mormon" page about the problems in the BoM. The Book of Mormon talks about things that didn't exist at the time... how is that possible? It's an interesting read. Please check out the site for more inaccuracies in the Book of Mormon.

1 Nephi

"I make a record in the language of my father ... the language of the Egyptians." That's a strange language an Israelite around 600 BCE to write in! There is no evidence of the use of Egyptian writing in pre-Columbian America. 1:2

It only took Nephi and his family three days to travel from Jerusalem to the Red Sea. (A distance of 250 miles) 2:6

Nephi named a "continually running" river that flowed from Arabia to the Red Sea after his son Laman. But there are no permament rivers n Arabia, and there hasn't been since the Pleistocene. 2:8

God made the New World just for Nephi and his family. (For though it had been occupied by the Native Americans for tens of thousands of years, God made it for Nephi, not for them.) 2:20

Nephi breaks his bow, "which was made of fine steel." But the technology for making steel did not exist in 600 BCE. 16:18

They come to a place that they call Bountiful, "because of its much fruit and also wild honey." But the Arabian coastline does not abound in fruit or honey, and hasn't for many thousands of years. 17:5

"We did work timbers of curious workmanship." But where did Nephi get the lumber? There are very few trees in the Arabian desert. 18:1

After arriving in the New World, Nephi and company planted all of the seeds that they brought from "the land of Jerusalem" and "they did grow exceedingly." Yet there is no evidence that Near Eastern crops ever grew in the New Worldin pre-Columbian times. 18:24

Nephi found cows, horses, oxen, asses, and goats and goats when he arrived in the New World in 590 BCE. Yet none of these domesticated animals existed in North America before the Europeans brought them over 2000 years later. 18:25

2 Nephi

In 590 BCE, Lehi and company found the Americas completely uninhabited. 1:8-9

Nephi brought along the brass plates and the magic ball (or compass) that God made with his own hands. This was about 1600 years before compasses were used in navigation. 5:12

Nephi makes many swords [like Laban's, made of "the most precious steel" (1 Ne 4:9)]. Yet there is no evidence of metal swords in the New World before Columbus. 5:14

Nephi teaches his followers to build buildings and work in iron, copper, brass, steel, gold, and silver. But evidence is lacking for such pre-Columbian metallurgy, and it would be well beyond the capabilities of a handful of immigrants from the ancient Near-East around 590 BCE. 5:15

Wasn't it God that cut Rahab (the sea monster) to pieces, wounded the dragon, and dried up the sea? Yeah, it was him all right. Who else could do that? 8:9-10

"The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb...." I wonder what will become of the spiders. Will they be more friendly toward flies? And will the parasitic wasps find another way to feed their larvae? Or will they continue to feed off the living bodies of caterpillars? 21:6

"And the weaned child shall put his hand in the cockatrice' den." A cockatrice is a serpent, hatched from a cock's egg, that can kill with a glance. They are rare nowadays. 21:8

According to this verse, the moon produces its own light and the earth does not move. 23:10

Dragons will live in Babylonian palaces and satyrs will dance there. 23:21-22

"Out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent." What ever happened to these fascinating biblical creatures? 24:29

"And the weaned child shall put his hand in the cockatrice's den." A cockatrice is a serpent, hatched from a cock's egg, that can kill with a glance. They are rare nowadays. 30:14

Enos

A Cmimeter is a curved sword with the sharp edge on the convex side. This type of sword did not exist at the time Enos was supposedly written (ca. 500 BCE). Indeed there is no evidence that swords of any kind existed in pre-Columbian America. 1:20

The Nephites planted "all manner of grain" and all manner of cattle, goats, and horses. (Cattle, horses, and European grains were absent in pre-Columbian North America.) 1:21

Jarom

The Nephites fortified their cities. (Why is there no evidence for these fortified cities?) 1:7

The Nephites "multplied exceedingly" and "became exceedingly rich" in gold, silver, iron, copper, brass, and steel making tools and weapons "of every kind." This was before steel existed, of course, and no evidence for any of these Nephite weapons, tools, cities, or technologies have ever been found. 1:8

Mosiah

Lehi, a 7th century Israelite, was taught in the language of the Egyptians. 1:4

The Nephites had to hand over half of their barley to the Lamanites. But that wouldn't have been a big deal since barley didn't exist in the New World at the time. 7:22

Ammon finds ancient swords. If swords existed in pre-Columbian America, why is there no evidence of it today? 8:11

Zeniff and his people plant all kinds of crops, including wheat and barley, neither of which were present until the Europeans brought them to America. 9:9

Zeniff arms his people with swords and cimeters. No evidence for these pre-Columbian weapons has ever been found. 9:16

More swords and cimeters. But no evidence for these pre-Columbian weapons has ever been found. 10:8

Alma

The Amlicites were armed with swords and cimeters (ca. 87 BCE). But no evidence for these weapons has ever been found. 2:12

No metal coins (ezrons, senines, ontis, etc.) have been found from pre-Columbia America. 11:4-19

The New World in 78 BCE had many temples, sanctuaries, and synagogues that "were built after the manner of the Jews." Yet no evidence of these magnificent buildings has ever been found. 16:13

Swords (presumably made of metal) are again mentioned as though though they were common in pre-Columbian America. But no evidence for their existence has ever been found. 17:7

Ammon had lots of horses an chariots, at a time when neither horses nor chariots existed in the New World. 18:9-10

Lamoni had horses and chariots. But horses and wheeled transportation didn't exist in the Pre-Columbian New World. 20:6

Just another of the many swords that are mentioned in the Book of Mormon at a time and place where swords did not exist. 20:16

The brother of Jared made 16 small stones, as clear as glass, out of molten rock. He then asked God to touch the stones to make them into lights to light up the inside of the barges. God did as the brother of Jared requested. 3:1-6

"All manner of cattle, of oxen, and cows, and of sheep, and swine, and of goats ... horses, and asses, and elephants"None of these animals existed in the New World at the time it was supposedly occupied by the Jaredites . 9:18-19

"Coriantum took to wife, in his old age, a young maid, and begat sons and daughters; wherefore he lived until he was an hundred and forty and two years old." 9:24

"There came forth poisonous serpents also upon the face of the land, and did poison many people." 9:31

"Lib also did that which was good in the sight of the Lord. And ... the poisonous serpents were destroyed." 10:19

Brass, iron and silks -- none of which existed in the Pre-Columbian New World. 10:23-24

"There had been slain two millions of mighty men, and also their wives and their children." Millions of people were "slain by the sword", yet no swords have ever been found from pre-Columbian America. 15:2